Year 2023 gave a fair share of ups and downs to the movie theater business in Tamil Nadu (TN), and as it's coming to a close, here is a roundup of highest grossing films at the Tamil Nadu box-office (BO) this this year. The top 5 list of highest grossing movies in 2023 are from top billing names like Vijay, Rajinikanth, Mani Ratnam and Ajith Kumar.

They have all done BO numbers exceeding Rs. 100 Cr, and Vijay's films alone have done a total business of Rs. 366 Cr., which is only a Rs. 100 Cr. short of the rest of the top 5 films' BO gross (Rs. 454 Cr.). Unlike last year where the remaining 5 in the Top 10 list of highest grossing movies in TN, maintained a box-office mark >Rs. 50 Cr, 2023's list seems to have a big gap in the collections between the top 5 and bottom 5.   

Highest Grossing Movies At the Tamil Nadu Box-Office - 2023

1. Leo - Rs. 224 Cr.
2. Jailer - Rs. 196 Cr.
3. Varisu - Rs. 142 Cr.+
4. Ponniyin Selvan: II - Rs. 140 Cr. 
5. Thunivu - Rs. 118 Cr
6. Mark Antony - Rs. 58 Cr.
7. Maamannan - Rs. 51 Cr. 
8. Maaveeran - Rs. 50 Cr.
9. Jawan - Rs. 48 Cr.
10. Jigarthanda Double X - Rs. 45 Cr. 

Last year, we had estimated that Ponniyin Selvan: I with a whopping collection of Rs. 220 Cr. has the broken the record for all time No: 1 highest grossing movie Tamil Nadu. The actuals of PS-I box-office in Tamil Nadu turned out to be higher than the quoted number. This year, it is estimated that Leo with an approximate gross of Rs. 224 Cr. has comfortably exceeded and broken PS-I's record, making it the new No: 1 grossing movie of Tamil Nadu.

While 2022 saw 2 dubbed films break into the highest grossing movies at the TN box-office, 2023 saw  Shah Rukh Khan's Jawan do the same in Tamil Nadu. However unlike last year where KGF: Chapter 2 made a staggering Rs. 120 Cr, earning it a top 5 spot in Tamil Nadu, and SS Rajamouli's RRR making a solid Rs. 72 Cr, Jawan merely managed a state-wide gross of Rs. 48 Cr. despite having Kollywood names like Atlee, Nayanthara, Vijay Sethupathi attached to it.  

Profitable Films in Tamil Nadu - 2023 

A number of Tamil movies turned out to be blockbusters at the TN box-office this year. Por Thozhil a small budget thriller earned the biggest profits grossing >Rs. 25 Cr, Vetrimaaran directed Vidhuthalai Part: 1 was a blockbuster raking in a Rs. 40 Cr,, while Santhanam's DD Returns was in this zone too with a Rs. 36 Cr. blockbuster gross.

Another small budget film which was a super hit in 2023 was Good Night with a TN box-office gross of Rs. 12 Cr. Vijay Antony's Pichakikkaran 2 was also a super hit with a TN collection of Rs. 19 Cr. Dhanush's Vaathi with a collection of Rs. 36 Cr, Dada at Rs. 22 Cr, Ayothi at Rs. 8 Cr, Chithha at Rs. 10 Cr. and Irugapattru are all profitable films in Tamil Nadu this year.      

Big budget Pathu Thala on the other hand, had an average run raking in only Rs. 28 Cr. Actor Jayam Ravi had two movies - Agilan and Iraivan that turned out to be box-office disappointments this year. Same was the case with Nayanthara whose Annapoorani didn't yield as much returns at the box-office. Karthi's Japan was perhaps the biggest disappointment in this box-office list, especially since he was coming off the success of Ponniyin Selvan: II just like Jayam Ravi.